I started my writing (and performing) career as a performance poet at open mic nights and began writing children's plays shortly afterwards for the drama groups I taught in my gap year.
I was really fortunate to train with some terrific playwrights, specifically Phil Smith and James MacDonald, but also with Abi Morgan, David Eldridge and Kaite O'Reilly, thanks to The University of Exeter's varied teaching staff and their commitment to supporting the next generation of playwrights. I've also been lucky enough to have been taught by the likes of Jennifer Saunders and Tony Robinson.
(phew, that's a lot of names to drop all at once, but I promise that's all I'm going to do)
In 2002 I trained at The Centre Selavy in France, in Commedia dell'Arte and was thoroughly hooked. I still love to play around with architypes and slapstick.
I took Exeter's playwriting module which helped me to write "A Prod in the Right Direction", a Commedia-inspired play working with some of the stock characters. After that I wrote, produced and voiced a WW1 radio docu-drama "Everyone Sang" to compliment the Northcott Theatre's production of "O! What a lovely War"- I am incredibly proud of the piece and would love to find it a home in the future.
Just before my graduation "A Prod in the Right Direction" won the Search for a Script Award with Theatre West. They produced the play at the Alma Tavern, and I'm delighted to say it had a sell-out run of two weeks.
For a short time I concentrated on my acting career, working mainly in television, and keeping my writing going in the background- I had a few readings with Full Circle Theatre.
In 2006 I joined the Young Writers Programme at The Royal Court and took the ten-week course run by Leo Butler. I produced many sketches, short plays and monologues throughout the course and also another full-length play, "The Scene", a love triangle set to the backdrop of sado-masochism.
From there myself and fellow playwright Kevin Kautzman set up The Lucky Dogs, a group for actors and writers to test-drive their material. I now run the British group and Kevin runs the American arm. We regularly produce "Writers Buffets" on either side of the pond to showcase short bursts of all our writers' work. If you'd like to be invited to the next one, please email me.
At present I'm working on an episodic play discussing insomnia, self-examination and the subconcious.